Abstract
Research on the ability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to bind aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) has mostly been focusing on lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. In this study, the AFB1 binding capacities of 20 Enterococcus strains belonging to E. casseliflavus, E. faecalis, E. faecium, E. hirae, E. lactis, and E. mundtii, 24 Pediococcus strains belonging to species P. acidilactici, P. lolii, P. pentosaceus, and P. stilesii, one strain of Lactococcus formosensis and L. garviae, and 3 strains of Weissella soli were investigated in MRS broth at 37 °C at 0.2 µg/mL mycotoxin concentration. According to our results, among non-lactobacilli LAB, the genera with the best AFB1 binding abilities were genus Pediococcus, with a maximum binding percentage of 7.6% by P. acidilactici OR83, followed by genus Lactococcus. For AFB1 bio-detoxification purposes, beside lactobacilli, pediococci can also be chosen, but it is important to select a strain with better binding properties than the average value of its genus. Five Pediococcus strains have been selected to compare their sterigmatocystin (ST) binding abilities to AFB1 binding, and a 2–3-fold difference was obtained similar to previous findings for lactobacilli. The best strain was P. acidilactici OR83 with 18% ST binding capacity. This is the first report on ST binding capabilities of non-Lactobacillus LAB strains.
Highlights
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by microfungi that are capable of causing disease and death in humans and other animals [1]
Aflatoxins are amongst the most poisonous mycotoxins produced by species within Aspergillus section Flavi, which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, grains, and various other substances [3,4]
Gradient elution is applied [33], but for the bacteria investigated in the present study, a simple isocratic method gave sufficient separation
Summary
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by microfungi that are capable of causing disease and death in humans and other animals [1]. The effects of some food-borne mycotoxins are acute with symptoms of severe illness appearing rapidly after consumption of food products contaminated with mycotoxins [2]. Of the several hundred mycotoxins identified so far, about a dozen have gained the most attention due to their severe effects on human health and their occurrences in food; and among the most commonly observed mycotoxins that present a concern to human health and livestock are aflatoxins [2]. Aflatoxins are amongst the most poisonous mycotoxins produced by species within Aspergillus section Flavi, which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, grains, and various other substances [3,4]. Crops that are frequently affected by Aspergillus spp. include cereals (corn, sorghum, wheat, and rice), oilseeds (soybean, peanut, sunflower, and cotton seeds), spices (chili peppers, black pepper, coriander, turmeric, and ginger), and tree nuts (pistachio, almond, walnut, coconut, and Brazil nut) [1,5,6,7,8,9].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
